Plants with potential use in the Southern Department of Caquetá, Colombia

The objective of this study was to identify the potential use of native species present in four municipalities in southern Caquetá, Colombia. This information was collected from a literature review (scientific articles, books, technical sheets, theses). The 50 most abundant species in 42 plots established and defined based on their economic potential. 25 species reported potential uses in the 13 defined use categories and 14 species were found to have more than one use (multipurpose). The categories with the highest number of species were medicine, construction and food. Most of the multipurpose species grow mainly in highly disturbed areas and secondary forest, they are easy to access and recognize. The results show that there are several species with economic potential in this region that are not used and that can be linked with production chains that promote their sustainable use and economic growth in the area.